Take a stand: Gov. Corbett needs to lead on important issues

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati says the governor must show his leadership on important issues such as transportation.

There is no lack of debate on the big issues facing Pennsylvania.

What is lacking, however, is concrete direction from the governor on them.

Gov. Tom Corbett talks about the transportation funding crisis gripping the state, Marcellus Shale drilling issues and his support for selling the state liquor store system. He even has gone as far as setting up two commissions to look at transportation and Marcellus Shale and hired the Philadelphia firm Public Financial Management to assess the worth of the liquor store system and develop different scenarios for privatizing it.

But since receiving the reports from the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission and the Transportation Funding Advisory Commission during the summer, Corbett has not publicly said whether he will follow the reports’ recommendations or not — or support an impact fee on Marcellus Shale drillers as some lawmakers recommend. Also, a draft of the Public Financial Management report has been issued to the governor, but a final report has not been made public.

This is a mistake. The governor needs to take a public stance soon if these issues are going to go forward.

As the Legislature gets back into full swing this month and next, lawmakers are saying publicly and privately they need to see leadership from the governor.

On Monday, Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati, R-Jefferson County, said he was once again sending the governor a letter asking him to publicly commit to a plan to raise $2.5 billion annually to finance repairs to highways and bridges and operate mass transit statewide.

The push for transportation dollars “should have begun yesterday,” Scarnati told the Pennsylvania Press Club. “When a bridge is shut down in my district, you have to go 30 miles [out of your way]. That’s not good for jobs. And that doesn’t attract new investment to Pennsylvania.”

As for the commissions, Scarnati told the Press Club he believed some of the issues brought out by the reports were obvious.

The governor and his staff have had ample time to study the issues, the commission reports and consider the PFM study. Now is the time for him to show his hand — especially because time is ticking away for him to really get anything accomplished.

It will be difficult to push any big issues not finished this year into next year given the House and half the Senate will be up for election. There will be much less interest in voting on any controversial issue, let alone one that might include a fee increase.

Gov. Corbett must step forward. He should embrace a plan championed by Scarnati to create an impact fee on natural gas extraction, something that is long overdue and should be a priority for October. He also should champion the transportation commission’s recommendations to raise money through abolishing a cap on a tax on wholesale fuel prices and increase fees for driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations.

Finally, he needs to tell taxpayers whether there is a model for privatizing the liquor stores that makes economic sense.

We have heard all the rhetoric since his campaign for governor, now it is time for Gov. Corbett to give us his plans.